


Mid-February Festivities

by AllTheTrueBeauty



Category: The Order (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Lupercalia, Post-Season 2, Valentine's Day, holiday fic!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:49:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29143260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllTheTrueBeauty/pseuds/AllTheTrueBeauty
Summary: In a post-season two world where all is well, Vera and the Knights celebrate Lupercalia and Valentine's Day with a ritual and several secrets.
Relationships: Hamish Duke/Vera Stone, Lilith Bathory/Nicole Birch, Randall Carpio & Gabrielle Dupres
Comments: 15
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in a happier post-season two future of my imagination wherein Vera has regained her magic and with Hamish is leading the Order towards a better future that includes the Knights as a respected integral part of the organization. Lilith is also, for the purposes of this fic, either recovered from or in control of her demon powers, and Hamish is now a full professor because why not.

February 14:

“Now?”

“Not yet.”

“But it’s bubbling.”

Vera pressed her hands to her temples, resisting the urge to order him out of the way. She pointed one perfectly manicured nail at the book before them, “And what do the instructions say, Mr. Carpio?”

Randall sighed heavily, “When the gnocchi rise to the surface of the water, remove them with a slotted spoon.”

“And have they done that yet?” Vera asked, folding her arms as she leaned against the counter. 

Randall looked at the pot and then shook his head. When she rolled her eyes however, he said, “Don’t forget this was your idea.”

“Oh I won’t.”

*****************

February 13: 

“Okay, I have to admit, this all sounded pretty stupid when you first mentioned it, but these masks are super cool,” Randall said as he, Jack, Gabrielle and Lillith strode into the reliquary. Each was dressed in their usual black robe worn for temple ceremonies, but instead of their regular ritual masks, each carried a mask fashioned to resemble a wolf’s face.

They were greeted by the sight of Hamish and Vera standing over a large worn book, deep in discussion. 

“I’m sure that translation of ‘noble born,’ is flexible,” Hamish said. “I mean, we can’t be expected to find actual royalty, right?” 

“Maybe...but….” Vera replied softly as she ran a finger over a line of text. “Because we don’t know whether this is an original incantation or a translated version of something much older, we could be going about this all entirely wrong.”

“Well this version also calls for running through town naked save for the skin of a recently slaughtered goat so unless you’ve changed your mind about that, we’re already modifying the original incantation,” Hamish shrugged.

“Wait what?” Jack said.

“Uhm ew,” Gabrielle interjected as Lilith shrugged.

Vera and Hamish both looked up from the book. 

“Good. You’re ready,” Vera said. “Have the members of the council arrived?”

“Yes, Grand Magus,” Gabrielle replied. 

“Then we can get this over with.” Vera swept her hair off her shoulders, pulling it into a low bun to accommodate the mask she’d soon don. 

“Wait,’ Hamish said, noticing a strand of hair she missed and tucking it behind her ear. 

“Awwww.”

Both Hamish and Vera rolled their eyes at Randall before Vera opened the doors to the Temple with a flick of her wrist.

The Lupercalia ritual was a yearly tradition, a rather simple one by Order standards albeit time-consuming, in part because of the modifications made to modernize it and make up for the lack of Luperci, or wolf priests. However, given the now well known presence of the Knights of the Blue Rose in the Order, the Gnostic Council had spent months petitioning a reluctant Vera to bring the ritual more in line with its ancient roots. 

It was then of course Vera’s job to get the Knights on board. 

Hamish had been easy enough. He was now a skilled practitioner and known by most in the Order to be both the leader of the Knights and Vera’s most trusted advisor. There were, of course, whispers about what else he might be to the Grand Magus, but surprisingly, Vera had allowed the rumors to persist. 

“The more time they spend talking amongst themselves, the less time they have to meddle,” she had told him after a visit to the DC temple. 

Of course meddling is exactly what the Council had done in regards to the Lupercalia ritual. Nonetheless, he agreed to help her redesign the ritual in part as an excuse to delve further into the Knights’ history.

The others had taken a bit more coercion. It was finally decided, over a game of foosball, that Hamish would do what he could to guarantee the Knights a week off Temple duty come Spring Break - if, of course, there wasn’t some new potentially world-ending threat. 

Even with the omission of some of the more unsavory parts of the original ritual, the update nearly doubled the time and effort needed. So it was practically midnight by the time the Knights stumbled back into the reliquary. Hamish handed out drinks as Jack, Lilith, Randall and Gabrielle squeezed onto the fancy black couch. 

From the Temple, Vera could be heard bidding goodbye to several overly enthusiastic members of the Gnostic Council and then casting a cleansing spell so the acolytes didn’t have to spend all night cleaning - and moreover so no one had to stay and supervise them. When she finally joined the others in the reliquary, Vera sat next to Hamish on the edge of her desk, gratefully accepting the bourbon he had at the ready. 

“We’re definitely going to need to make some adjustments to that next year,” she said after draining her glass. 

“You think?” Jack said from the couch. He shifted his shoulders as much as he could given the close quarters. “Silverback definitely has some opinions.”

“Yes, well I’ll be sure to circulate a survey,” Vera snapped. Hamish gave Jack a warning look and slipped an arm around Vera running his hand across her back.

“Soooooo,” Randall said. “What does everyone have planned for the big day tomorrow?”

“Nicole and I are going to have a picnic on the river,” Lilith said. 

“Randall has a surprise but he won’t tell me what it is,” Gabrielle pouted.

“That’s what makes it a surprise,” Randall said. “What about you, Jack? Finally going to ask out that new waitress at the Blade and Chalice?”

“Maybe this weekend - I have to focus on midterms tomorrow.”

Lilith turned to Vera, “Why does Belgrave schedule midterms to begin on Valentine’s Day?”

“The academic calendar is governed by the provost, not the chancellor,” Vera shrugged. 

Everyone, save for Hamish and Vera who as usual were staying at her house, was walking to Den when Gabrielle suddenly stopped in the middle of the path. 

“Why didn’t Hamish or Vera say what they were doing for Valentine’s Day?”

Jack shrugged, “Is it a big deal?”

Randall and Lillith glanced at each other as Gabrielle exclaimed, “Uh, yeah, it is a big deal. They’re basically the most powerful couple in the Order.”

“But they’re also pretty private,” Lilith said. 

“Not around us though,” Jack said, suddenly more interested.

“They’re probably going to some fancy restaurant downtown with an impossible to pronounce name, or maybe they’re going to sit at Vera’s fancy house or Hamish’s fancy apartment and be boring,” Randall shrugged.

“Randall Carpio, you know something,” Gabrielle said.

Randall held up both his hands in a gesture of innocence as Lillith gave him a death glare. 

“You both know something,” Jack said.

Randall glanced around the seemingly empty campus, “Can we at least wait until we get back to the Den on the off chance that Hamish and Vera walk by so he doesn’t literally murder me for ruining his plans?” 

“We’re going right now,” Gabrielle said, pulling Randall's arm with Jack following closely behind. Lilith threw her hands up in the air and then followed the rest of the group.

They had barely all gotten through the door of the Den when Gabrielle demanded, “Okay, spill it.”

“Hey Hamish, you home?” Randall called up the stairs and then said to the others, “I should probably go check, right? Just in case?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, if we’re going to do this, let’s just do it,” Lilith said. “Hamish bought a ring.”

“Like a ring-ring...like he’s going to--” Jack began. He was interrupted, however, by Gabrielle.

“Oh my god. I can’t believe it. He didn’t even ask for my help. I have excellent taste in jewelry.”

“It’s not exactly an engagement ring,” Lilith said.

“But it’s also not not an engagement ring,” Randall added.

Both Jack and Gabrielle looked confused so he went on, “I guess that even though it’s not that uncommon for high ranking Order officials to live normal lives with spouses and families and stuff alongside their batshit crazy magic…”

“Edward Coventry for example,” Jack injected.

“Exactly,” Randall said. “But that guy was universally loved….well save for you and your grandpa, Jack, before he went all magical supervillain. Vera on the other hand….”

“What?” Gabrielle asked. 

“Well there was that one time the Council tried to fire Vera from being Grand Magus, and we all woke up in the vault awaiting our execution.”

“Ugh, right.”

“Anyway,” Lilith said, hoping to get Randall back on track. 

“Yeah, so T-L-D-R, they’ve apparently talked about it and like actually getting married might not be a good idea now or ever because the Order is the Order, but they’re kind of crazy in love - who knew - so Hamish is giving her a ring anyway…”

“And he’s planning to tell her that the ring can mean whatever she wants or need it to mean right now,” Lilith said.

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

“That’s…” Jack began.

“Seriously the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” Gabrielle said.


	2. Chapter Two

February 14 

Vera frowned as she glanced at her phone. After an almost comically hectic morning, time seemed to be grinding to a complete stop this afternoon.

Somehow in their exhaustion after the Lupercalia ritual, neither she nor Hamish had managed to set an alarm on their phones before falling almost immediately asleep. Vera had woken up first (an extremely rare occurrence) and would have found Hamish’s sleepy insistences that she come back to bed entirely more tempting had she not realized that he was supposed to be administering a midterm exam to one of his classes in 20 minutes. 

Why did Belgrave always start midterms on Valentine’s Day? In truth, she hadn’t thought to care until this year. Had it interfered with some ritual at the Temple, the provost would have gotten an earful long ago. Vera made a note in her phone to discuss adjusting next year’s schedule and felt a little flutter in her chest. She had gotten out of the habit of thinking about the future in any sort of personal sense long ago. Even now, from a strictly practical standpoint, it wasn’t fair to herself or to Hamish to spend time daydreaming about what they’d never have, but more than ever, Vera was content to live in the moment as long as he was there with her.

She grinned to herself, alone in the reliquary, and tried to focus on reading through the biographies of prospective neophytes from next year’s incoming freshman class. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door to the reliquary, Randall was trying to talk himself out of what was a decidedly bad idea but seemingly his last resort. Summoning up his courage, he knocked tentatively. 

Maybe Vera wouldn’t be there. She was probably off doing chancellor things in the administration office on the other side of campus. 

“Do you just literally run the whole university from down here?” he asked as the doors opened to reveal a slightly perplexed looking Vera staring back at him.

“Why are you here?”

“I need a favor.”

Vera raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to sit in one of the chairs across from her desk. 

“So as you know, it’s Valentine’s day,” Randall began. Vera leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “And this friend of mine was going to surprise his girlfriend with dinner reservations at Neon…”

“That new restaurant with the famous chef?” 

“Wait, do you know him?” Randall’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Is he in the Order?”

“No and no.”

“Damn, that would have made this a lot easier. Anyway, when my friend made the reservation three months ago, he didn’t realize that there was one more button to click to confirm said reservation until he was looking for a confirmation email this morning, and then found the browser tab still open and realized I---I mean he hadn’t clicked the button.”

Vera was leaning forward now, a look of pity and amusement in her eyes as she rested her chin in her hands, “And so you came to me, because you thought there might be a spell to fix all of this? For your friend of course.”

Randall squirmed in his chair. “Yeah….but really it’s for my friend’s….it’s for Gabrielle. I don’t want to screw this up for her.”

Vera’s expression softened as she took a sheet of paper from a nearby drawer and wrote out a list of ingredients. 

“Is this for the spell?” Randall asked. 

“No, it’s a grocery list. Meet me at the Den in an hour,” Vera said, opening the reliquary’s door with a flick of her wrist.

**********

On the other side of campus in the philosophy department, Hamish was starting to get antsy. 

He had spent much of the day thinking through when and how he’d give Vera the ring. Definitely not at dinner. They were going to the small out of the way restaurant they had frequented once Vera had felt comfortable enough for them to go on some semblance of an actual date after months of sleeping together, but even then Hamish knew that anything that might generate public attention was out of the question. 

As his second to last class of the day was quietly working their way through their exams, Hamish was considering whether he could distract Vera long enough to do something romantic at home after dinner when he reached into his jacket pocket where the ring box should be...and it wasn’t there. 

Oh shit.

Thankful that his students were all looking down at their tests and didn’t notice the expression of sheer terror on his face, he tried to think logically. He had purposely hidden the ring at the Den instead of the house given Vera’s rather impressive track record of accidentally finding well hidden gifts. The plan had been to stop by that morning to pick it before his first class, but, of course, oversleeping meant not only had he not done that, he had forgotten entirely about the need to do it until this very moment.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

There definitely wouldn’t be enough time to run to the Den, grab the ring, get the inevitable pep talk from Randall and make it home to meet Vera without making them late for dinner. That is, if Vera even bothered to go home. Hamish glanced down at his phone expecting to already see a text to just meet her at the Temple after class and sent a text of his own. 

**********

“Are you seriously texting right now?”

“Noooo,” Randall said, setting his phone face down on the kitchen counter before he could finish typing his reply to Hamish explaining exactly why it was impossible for him to bring the ring over to him before his last class. 

“Good because if we’re going to get all of this done, you need to start peeling potatoes” Vera said, handing him a peeler and wandering into the other room to inspect the Den’s bar.

“And so you’re going to just have a drink and supervise?” Randall called from the kitchen.

“No,” Vera said, returning with a bottle in hand. “I’m going to start making vodka sauce.”

Randall’s widened, “You’re going to use something from Hamish’s bar?”

“I have ways of making it up to him.”

“Well I don’t know how you’re going to -- oh ew, now THAT image is going to be stuck in my head all day.”

Randall busied himself with the potatoes continuing to mutter, “It’s like thinking about your parents or something…but with, like, weird kinky magic.”

Vera was about to say something when Randall’s phone began vibrating and sounding Hamish’s custom ringtone. 

However, when Randall picked up the phone he said, a little louder than he needed to, “No I’m not interested in information about my car’s extended warranty. In fact, I don’t even have a car.”

After he hung up, he turned to Vera, “I do have a car, actually.”

**********

“What the hell Randall?” Hamish said in the hallway outside his classroom, ignoring the perplexed looks of two students exciting the room after turning in their tests.


End file.
